


hear the wolves howl

by straightforwardly



Category: Love Nikki Dress Up Queen
Genre: Extra Treat, Gen, Ghosts, Legends, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-06 00:25:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16377923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/straightforwardly/pseuds/straightforwardly
Summary: The northern wind howled, battering its might against the stone echaugettes of the fortress.Nidhogg reflects on an ancient legend.





	hear the wolves howl

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mornelithe_falconsbane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mornelithe_falconsbane/gifts).



The northern wind howled, battering its might against the stone _echaugettes_ of the fortress. The thick cloak Nidhogg wore did little to protect him from the bitter chill as he stood there, gazing through the square window of the lookout upon the empty land of the north. It was only early autumn, but already the heaps of snow reached heights normally only seen at mid-winter, when the world was at its darkest. It was to be a wolf winter: bitter, fierce, unforgiving. 

It reminded him of a legend from the days before the blood curse. Long ago, there had been a winter crueler than any seen before or after. Not even the southern depths of Pigeon Kingdom could escape the cold, savage grasp of that winter, and in what later became the North Kingdom—the heart of its power—people froze to death in great droves, and those who did not freeze starved. For the winter was not only bitterly cold, but unfeelingly long; spring came, and still the snows did not abate, and slowly the cellars of those who had not yet perished began to empty. 

In the midst of all of this was a woman. No one knew her precise origin, save that she was of the North; nor did anyone ever learn what drove her. What was known was that when the snows began to spread rather than melt, she, alone, with no one to guide nor aid her, journeyed to the highest peaks of the furthest mountains and faced Winter itself in the form of a slavering beast. Their battle raged for days, and at the end of it all that cruel Winter was dead at her feet and a new spring had finally been born. It was said that she wore the beast’s great pelt for the rest of her days, and that from that moment on, wolves were ever found following at her heels. 

Another wolf winter was coming—perhaps not as terrible as the one in the story, but brutal nonetheless. But this time, it would be in the North Kingdom’s favor. Enemy forces would only exhaust themselves trudging through the snow, forced to do battle against the shrieking gales of the winter storms first before they could throw their might against the walls of his fortress. Where winter had once threatened to destroy the world entire, it would now save it from an end that may have been slower but no less cataclysmic than the suffering it had once offered. 

As he thought this, a cold, now-familiar breeze wrapped around him—its touch softer than the harsh bite of the wind, but no gentler, for its chill sank deep into his Northern-bred bones. It went deeper than bone; it cut into his very soul and forced a gasp out from between his lips where the battering winds could not.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought, not for the first time, that he could see Lunar standing there, watching him with her steady, severe gaze. Judging him. But when he turned to face her, as he had on that final, rain-soaked day, all he found was frost blowing through the empty air.

It had been necessary. Shivering, he reminded himself of that. Again, he thought about the woman from the legend. She, too, had needed bloodshed to bring about great change. If the blood curse had laid upon the world in the days of the terrible winter—had she refrained from inflicting violence as Lunar had; had she had that choice taken away from her, as it had been taken away from all of Miraland—then all life would have slowly withered away long ago.

Again, Lunar’s ghostly chill touched him, forcing him to shudder and gasp under the immense weight of it. But his resolve remained firm. 

He would gladly bear this punishment for the rest of his days if it meant seeing the rest of the world free.

**Author's Note:**

> The legend Nidhogg thinks about was inspired by the [Snow Wolf](http://lovenikki.wikia.com/wiki/Snow_Wolf) suit, though I ended up going with a slightly different take on it than what's in the flavor text. The line about Pigeon Kingdom was inspired by the [Snow Queen](http://lovenikki.wikia.com/wiki/Snow_Queen) suit.


End file.
